New Zealand led most of the game, but succumbed to Korea's 3-point shooting in the third quarter for a final score of 67-70. Jillian led all scorers with 20 points, and had six rebounds. Here is the game report and the box score.
Although the Tall Ferns won only one game in the tournament, coach McHugh was impressed with what they accomplished. He feels that the experience was of tremendous benefit to them in their preparations for the Olympics in August.
Both Clare and Jillian made valuable contributions throughout the week.
Clare started all five games and played an average of 19 minutes per game. She averaged 5.7 points per game and led the team in 3-point percentage (50).
Jilllian played an average of 25 minutes per game. She was the team's second-best scorer (11.7 points per game) and rebounder (6.3 per game).
China was determined to win the gold medal and defeated the USA 84-81. Quotes from the USA tell the story:
Anne Donovan: "They played a tremendous game ... really attacked us."
Katie Smith: "They were really aggressive."
Lisa Leslie: "They were all over us in the post."
Here is the game report and box score.
In spite of the unexpected defeat by China, the USA is still favored to win its fifth gold medal in the upcoming Olympic Games. The loss, as Lisa Leslie said, "... is enough motivation to drive me to be even better for the Olympics and be totally focused ... It's a reality check."
The primary strength of this USA squad was their post play -- Sylvia Fowles averaged the team-high 17 points and 10.5 rebounds per game; Lisa Leslie averaged 14.7 points and 7.8 rebounds per game .
Candice played a fairly modest role in the mostly very experienced group of players. Although her statistics are not impressive, she contributed a lot to the team effort. She played an average of 21 minutes per game, scored 5.3 points per game, and led the team in steals (7).
On Saturday afternoon, between the bronze and gold medal games, FIBA conducted the draw for the Olympic men's and women's basketball competition. The USA and New Zealand women will play each other again in Beijing on August 17th. Here is a full report and a video of the draw ceremony.
Here is a summary report of the entire tournament from Beijing.
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